Welcome to the Cultural Atlas

The Cultural Atlas is an educational resource providing comprehensive cultural information on the countries that Australia’s biggest migrant populations have originated from. The aim is to improve social cohesion in Australia and promote inclusion in an increasingly culturally diverse society. The Cultural Atlas was developed to supplement SBS's Cultural Competence Program. More information on this course can be accessed
here.

Click
here
to see the introduction again. Otherwise, click on a country to begin and explore the site!

Featured: Russian Culture

Russian culture is typically explained to Australians through a Western
lens that sees it as an opposing force. This has fostered a negative
opinion of the Russian government. According to the Spring 2017 Global
Attitudes Survey, 75% of Australians think the government of Russia
doesn't respect the personal freedoms of its people.

Such descriptions that focus on politics may misconstrue motivating
factors from the Russian perspective. As such, it becomes valuable for
Australians to separate their view of Russia's position in geopolitics
from their understanding of Russian people and society. Please continue
on to learn more about Russian culture.

Featured: Samoan Culture

Samoa (not to be confused with American Samoa) was a colony of New
Zealand up until 1962. Since achieving independence, it has maintained
relations with New Zealand and continues to be the largest Pacific ethnic
group. As of 2013, approximately 144,138 New Zealand residents identified
as Samoan (Stats NZ, 2013). In the Australian context, the Samoan
population has increased from 19,092 in 2011 to 24,017 in 2016. However,
it is widely believed that the size of the Samoan community is
underestimated due to migration via New Zealand.

The Samoan population in Australia is currently on the rise, with many
migrants continuing to pay homage to the Samoan way of life. Learn more
about the vibrant culture and people of Samoa here.

Featured: Australian Culture

In a 2013 survey on Australian social attitudes, SBS found that 69% of
Australian respondents believed immigrants should adopt Australian
traditions and values. However, there wasn't a clear consensus among
those who answered on what those traditions and values were.

Australia is a relatively young country (in its colonial sense) and its
people are arguably still understanding their emerging national character.
Indeed, Australians have at times criticised their own country as somehow
lacking culture. On the contrary, the values and attitudes of
Australians are developing a very unique cultural identity. Continue on to
learn more.